The Detroit Lions will come to Soldier Field on Sunday for an NFC North matchup with the Chicago Bears. It didn’t go that well for the Bears in a Sunday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys, 31-17. They are now 0-3 and need to have something good happen quickly. Detroit has followed a week one road win over the Colts with two straight losses. On Sunday, they lost 34-27 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. After falling behind 31-3, they made a comeback, only to come up short at the end. They look to even things up at 2-2 this week on the road.

The Lions scored an interesting week one win, when they outslugged the Colts on the road with a 39-35 win. They followed that with a strange result at home in a 16-15 loss to the Titans on a late Tennessee touchdown. Against Green Bay, they stunk out the joint in the first half, before making a spirited late run at the win that came up short. So far this season, we’ve seen both the offense and defense play with wide-ranging form, even within the same game.

Detroit’s aerial attack looks good and Matthew Stafford passed for 385 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday. One of the league’s big surprises is the performance of Marvin Jones, who had 6 catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers. Tight end Eric Ebron is showing flashes, Anquan Boldin has caught two TDs, Theo Reddick is a versatile weapon, and when Golden Tate gets rolling, it will really help. The loss of Ameer Abdullah for the foreseeable future is bad for the run-game, but Stafford has a lot of good options forming. Again, they need to be more consistent. Sometimes, they’re stagnant and other times they look like a high-flying bunch. And trying to guess what you’re getting from week-to-week without rhyme or reason can be a real task.

Those same consistency issues are plaguing the Detroit defense. In the second half against Indy and the first half against Green Bay, they were awful. Other than that, they’ve been pretty good. But those parts of games where the opposing offense is hitting the scoreboard with regularity is a lot for the offense to overcome. They were resolute against the Colts to a certain degree and kept the Titans under control, but those lapses are going to be costly if they continue. After getting one turnover in three games, maybe they can put a bigger imprint on this game. And like Chicago, they’re dealing with issues on this side of the ball, with Ziggy Ansah and DeWayne Levy out indefinitely. That puts a major hurt on this defense’s ability to make key plays and it showed against the Packers on Sunday.

Injuries have really put a hurt on the Bears, a team that looked problematic even at full-power personnel-wise. Losing Matt Forte to free agency didn’t help, either, as the Bears ground-game has ground to a halt. And the Chicago aerial attack is not able to pick up the slack. QB Jay Cutler missed last week with a thumb injury and coach Fox is saying there’s no guarantee he will pull Brian Hoyer when Cutler is cleared. Hoyer threw for an impressive-looking 317 yards on Sunday, with a lot of that coming late after the Cowboys had more or less put the game away.

After seeing injuries decimate the Chicago “D,” they’re seeing similar misfortune on the other side of the ball. In addition to Cutler, starting RB Jeremy Langford is out for a while, with Ka’Deem Carey also banged-up. They will now depend on rookie Jordan Howard, but this wasn’t a team that has a plentiful backfield after Forte left and now they’re down to scraps. Howard peeled off a 36-yard run and combined with an impressive training camp, maybe there’s some hope there.

Unfortunately for the Chicago Bears defense, the injury list looks more like the starting defense than the actual starting defensive lineup. The list is almost too numerous to name. It looked like a group that could hit its stride, but they weren’t able to field anything resembling what they had in mind. And as a result, we’re seeing a lot of guys getting run past in this group. Running backs are eating up this bunch and though that’s not the Lions’ bread-and-butter, one would still figure they can get business done on Sunday.

One element of hope for Chicago is if they could somehow fire up their aerial attack. Cutler or Hoyer can both put up a lot of yards under the right conditions. Some tools are there with Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal, and Kevin White. Zach Miller had a big game on Sunday night. But after scoring 14, 14, and 17 points to open the season, they’re going to need a gust of positivity. Some teams over the years have had just that happen at home against Detroit, so maybe the Bears can catch a break.

Chicago seems ill-equipped to battle through these issues. There seems to be a disconnect on this team. The coaches aren’t getting through. Players are under-performing critically. And despite some good effort here and there, it looks like a deflated unit. At 0-3, the season is already getting into a weird zone and they need to make something happen quickly. We’ve seen other bad Bears teams in recent seasons spring to life before. With Detroit coming into town with issues of their own, maybe the Bears can come up with something. At home, they’ve lost 12 of their last 13, so it’s unclear if home-field is even an advantage at this point. It’s easy to envision a more emotional and invested Detroit team getting the win and cover over a sideways Bears team that looks to be spiraling. But maybe the high-profile nature of their defeats could lead to some funny stuff with the lines, as getting people to bet on the Bears right now might be hard. It’s almost too easy of a pick, but I’m taking Detroit.

Scott's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I’m betting on the Detroit Lions minus 3 points.

If you went to the store and two of the same exact product were sitting side by side; One for $105.00 and one for $110.00, which would you buy? THE CHEAPER ONE OF COURSE! So why are you still betting at -110 odds when you could be betting at -105? Dump your overpriced bookie TODAY and start enjoying the benefits of discounted odds at the web's BEST sportsbook: 5Dimes!

Need some help with your handicapping? Our NFL betting tips will help the begineer to novice bettor improve their bottom line.

Free Picks

Preseason NFL Picks - There's a common misconception that NFLX betting is worthless. Not true! Often times, coaches will give their game plan AND divulge who will be playing, when they'll be playing and how much!

Editor's Picks - Each week our in house pro's tackle the week's card and make predictions on the week's games ATS! Best bets, top plays, premium selections, etc. FREE!

Expert NFL Picks - Free premium plays from the "real" expert football handicappers from around the web. Don't fall for second rate picks from ESPN, the NFL Network, Hank Goldberg or the screaming touts on TV.

Underdog of the Week Pick - We forecast the loudest barking dog of the week. Expect a 60% winning percentage with these plays.

Favorite of the Week Play - We examine "the chalk" and determine the safest bet in which who you should lay the points with. Forecasting winning favorites long term isn't easy, but we've had some pretty good luck with it over the years.

Line Movement Plays - We report all the major line moves from the gridiron and forecast whether it's public money or sharp action causing the move. Who will cover the spread this week? Our line move plays!

NFL Consensus Picks - See what the general public is betting on. We use this info to fade the public to the tune of big profits over the course of the season.

Bookies Picks - Each week, we'll post which side the bookies are on. Please note: These are not OUR picks. We're simply reporting the teams the bookies need to cover the spread in order for them to win. Games receiving equal action on both sides will not be factored into these records.

Office Pool Picks - You asked for it and you got it! Each week, we'll post our predictions to win each game straight up so that you can RULE your pick'em league!

NFL Trends - Don't ever let anybody tell you that the trend is your friend. These picks make great fades which is exactly what we do with them.

NFL Computer Picks - We enter the statistics into the database and the computer crunches the numbers and gives final score predictions. These should be used for entertainment only!

Monday Night Football Picks - The ultimate bailout play. Our MNF picks are golden and have hit 62% or better 3 out of the past 4 years. (Last season was a disaster!) Did we mention that their FREE?

2017 NFL Predictions - Jay breaks down each division and gives his picks on which teams he thinks will win the AFC and NFC Conferneces (plus Super Bowl winner prediction).

Super Bowl Picks - Everybody here in the Predictem office takes their best preseason shot at predicting the winner Superbowl 50. Pride is on the line here! Oh, and LOOT too!

Betting

5Dimes - Bet your NFL football picks at -105 odds every day of the week! 15 team parlays! 20 point teasers! Pleasers and huge point buying opportunities as well!

Bovada - Tired of deposit hassles? Bet on football using your credit card at a sportsbook where your Visa CAN and WILL work for deposits! Offers a 50% sign-up bonus up to $250 FREE!

MyBookie - Credit cards work GREAT here! Get a massive 50% bonus up to $1000 in free cash!

Bookmaker - Watch the game for a bit THEN make a wager! Yes! You can jump in after the action has started using their awesome live betting feature! Get a massive 50% bonus up to $300 in FREE bonus cash OR take advantage of their enormous 15% bonus up to $2500 in free cash! The best sportsbook for highrollers!

Super Bowl Betting - We explain all the different types of wagers you can making including point spread bets, totals, moneylines and prop bets. No need to go to Vegas! You can bet the big game online!

FAQ and MISC

Weekly Fantasy Football - If you drafted a crappy team or the injury bug has bit you and wrecked your season, we've got something really cool to turn you on to that will change the way you play fantasy sports forever!

Predictem.com provides NFL handicapping and American football betting information and should be considered for entertainment purposes only. We are not a sportsbook nor do we take bets. There is always risk involved when placing bets of any kind. Our pro football picks usually beat the spread long term, but as with anything gambling related, there is no such thing as a lock and there is always risk invovled when placing bets of any kind. Furthermore, you should always check with your local, state and federal government to insure that partaking in online gambling is legal within your jurisdiction.